Takeda Masumi and Nangong Saya were both well-trained. The moment they heard the noise, they instinctively dove to the side.
Boom!
A grenade landed not far ahead of them, blasting chunks of stone across the sturdy roadside.
It had landed some distance from the two women. They had only been jolted by the blast wave, making it a warning shot.
Takeda Masumi lowered the arm she had raised to shield her face and looked up.
A SAT soldier in an Individual Combat System hovered seven or eight meters above the ground.
Takeda Masumi's heart sank. If she couldn't quickly deal with the SAT soldier in front of her, he'd call in more backup, and they'd really have no chance of escaping.
Oddly, the other soldier neither attacked nor said a word. He simply looked down at her.
Takeda Masumi finally had time to glance at Nangong Saya out of the corner of her eye.
She was sprawled on the ground, apparently knocked unconscious by the blast wave. But Takeda Masumi, whose eyes missed little, realized that she was faking it, waiting for a chance to counterattack with her Mechanical Arm.
"Takeda... Masumi?"
A man's voice, hesitant with uncertainty, drew Takeda Masumi's attention back.
The SAT soldier hovering in the air opened his face shield, revealing the handsome face of a man in his thirties.
Takeda Masumi had an excellent memory and recognized him at once. "Saki Ryosuke?"
Saki Ryosuke gave her a complicated look. "So it really is you!"
Takeda Masumi hadn't expected to run into a former teammate here, either.
They had both been trainees in the Countermeasure Department, and got along well. After becoming full members, they had even been assigned to the same team.
Later, they had both wanted to apply to join the SAT Mobile Team.